Clamping devices having the features of this class are used in passenger cars as well as trucks for temporarily locking steering columns, which the driver has set in advance in height and tilt corresponding to his needs. For example, a clamping device has been known from DE 44 00 306, in which two friction surface pairs can be pressed against each other by a tilting mechanism. The tilting mechanism comprises a stud, which is arranged at right angles to the friction surface pairs and is fixed against axial displacement, and three tilting pins, which are arranged approximately in parallel to the axis of the stud with their longitudinal axes and are supported with one end in an abutment at the body bracket and are accommodated with their other ends in a collar of the stud, wherein a rotation of the stud collar in one direction of rotation brings the tilting pins into a clamped position, in which they bring about the necessary clamping forces for locking the steering column housing. Rotation of the stud collar in the opposite direction of rotation brings the clamping pins into a loosened position abolishing the clamping connection.
The increased safety requirements in automotive engineering has led for some time to the increased use of air bag systems, which are to prevent the contact especially of the driver with the steering wheel protruding into the passenger compartment in the case of a frontal collision. Such air bag systems require an especially stable design of the steering column assembly units in the case of a crash, so that these systems can exert their full action.